Food, Equations, Exersice, and Lasers

Food

I have not been eating as well as I would like to be.  I have been eating out way to much.  I went a restocked my fridge and am going to start eating better again this week.

Equations

I have been playing a lot with SAGE and implicit modeling.  It is very cool to have this:
c = Tetrahedral (18,18,60)
sp = Sphere(1.5)
sld = Join(c,sp)
swplt = Plot3d(sld,5,100)
swplt

where you just define the individual shapes like this:
def Tetrahedral (a,b,c) : return ((x^2 + y^2 + z^2)^2 + a*x*y*z - b*(x^2 + y^2 + z^2) + c)
def Sphere (r) : return (x^2+y^2+z^2-r^2
and a join like this:
def Join (a,b) : return Min2(a,b)

And what comes out is:

Yes that is a sphere floating in the middle...  I plan to try printing this.  It should work and have the ball trapped in the middle.  (I will post pictures if it works.)

Exersice

I went for a run this morning.  It was not a very long run, but it was a run.  I think I am going to join the "Movers and Shakers" club at work.  That is where you get a pedometer and log your miles.  You then get prizes at certain points.  It might be a good motivator....

Lasers

I think for my final project in my rapid prototyping class we are going to test and use a 3D scanner setup using free software called DAVID (http://www.david-laserscanner.com/).   What is very cool about this is that it uses any camera and a laser with a line diffuser on it.  You use the laser to scan the surface of the object while the camera records the shape of the line.  This is then converted into a 3D shape in the computer.

Getting Back in the Groove

Missed my weekly Sunday post this week.  I had a party on Sunday night for my sister Joiwyn who turned 16.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOIWYN!!!

I am enjoying my rapid prototyping class.  I just finished a lab report about a part I made to test printing threaded holes.  Next we get to test a 3D scanner...  Later we will be making our own 3D modeling software using SAGE and ISM, Implicit Solid Modeling.  SAGE is a free, open source, computer algebra program.  ISM is where you define a shape with a formula, f(x,y)=x^2 + y^2 - 1 for a disc.  This then is used to determine what is inside, on, and outside the object.

I have also been playing with OpenSCAD which is a open source cad engine that lets you model with a script that defines the object and then will render it. Very cool...

The First Week of Winter Quarter 2010

My school week was fairly uneventful, as the first week often is.  We got the class syllabus, and the first assignments.  I feel good about this quarter.

The first week back to work, after the Christmas break, also went well.  No major issues, so I have been able to get caught up on some lingering projects.

The highlight of my week was that after about 7 months without a kitchen sink, do to a remodeling project, I have running water in the kitchen again.

New Year's Resolutions

I have never been big on making new year's resolutions but I thought this might be a good time to start.  I have recently started sharing more online and feel that this is a good time to try and set a tone for this new year.  I have had some hard quarters and have chosen to take a lighter load next quarter and also to try and be more productive with the free time I have.  I have many projects that either have been started and not finished or I have not found the time to start.

This all started to get me thinking.  How can I do more?  How can I fit more things into an already busy schedule?  The solution is to add more structure to my life.  This may seem like an odd solution but when thinking about it I get more done when I plan to get more done.  Also when there are many projects it is easy to get lost in them all.  If I add structure and plan time for them I will be more likely to get them all done.

Also I made some great progress toward the end of last year in starting to lose some weight and get in better shape.  This gave me more energy and made me feel better both in mind and body.

So here are my resolutions for my life in this new year and start of a new quarter:

1. Continue to improve my eating habits
2. Continue to increase my fitness level
3. Schedule my time more
   
4. Watch less TV
   
5. Spend more time on projects

I may refine these and make a more firm plan over the next few weeks as my new schedule stabilizes, but this is the heart of my resolutions.  Resolutions are one of those things that are often made fun of because they are often forgotten.  I hope by sharing them it will help motivate me to keep them and for you to keep your own.

Finding Old Friends

My recent exploration of the social world that is inside my computer has lead to reconnecting with friends I never expected to see or talk to again.  This has opened my eyes to some of the wonder that I had shunned before.

What I would always say is "If all our communication is online won't that ultimately lead to a depersonalization of ALL communication?"  Before I felt the answer was yes...  now I have a new answer, "maybe."  It all depends on how we use these tools.

I could try and come up with an analogy for this but we will just stick with what it is.  I still feel that personal communication is a necessity, however I now see that there is also value in the mass communication (Tweets, status updates, etc...).  Which is worse, not talking to someone or just sending out a message for all to see.  I would say now that not sharing is worse.

So this leads to something that just happened.  I had many old friends, (good friends that drifted away), many of which I could not remember their last names or even sometimes there first names.  Friends I last spoke to between 2 and 10 years ago.  I was looking around on Facebook and remembered someones last name.  I found them, invited them to be my friend, and found more and more.

It is good to see them, good to know a little about their lives, and share a little about mine.  Even open the door to possibility of seeing them in person again.  This is what you lose by not using this tool.  You can keep people informed with much less effort which leads to much MORE communication.  Even if the bulk of that communication involves a less personal means the end result is more personal communication.  That is a good thing, if it is used carefully.

The End of Fall Quarter 2009

This week was finals week for fall quarter.  All the finals went about as expected.  I got grades lower than I would have liked in two of the three classes (Math 464 & ME 331).  I got a 4.0 in the other class (ME 480).  Overall reasonable grades for such an ugly quarter.

This quarters schedule was horrible.  I had to get to work at 6am and work till 8am.  Then catch a bus to get to school by 9:30 for my first class, Math 464 (Numerical Analysis).  Then I had ME 331 (Heat Transfer), a hour break, and then ME 480 (CAD Technology).  I then caught a bus to get back to work at 2:30pm and work till 7:30.  Tuesday and Thursday were a little different but I still got to work at 6am, went to school in the middle and back to work till 7:30pm.

Of these classes the one I liked the most was the ME 480.  In this class we had labs where we got to make parts using rapid prototyping machines.  This is very exciting, you can design and "print" a part very quickly.  I have posted a video of some of these parts on You Tube.

I have chosen to make next quarter a little lighter and only take two classes. The first is a follow-on class to ME 480.  This class (ME 498, Advance Topics in Rapid Prototyping And Rapid Manufacturing) will be more hands on allowing me to actually use the machines myself (in ME 480 the TA operated them all).  I will also be taking ME 373, Introduction to System Dynamics.  This is a required core class for my ME degree.


Overall I am glad to have a break and am looking forward to what is coming in a few weeks.

The Beginning

This journey started long ago, but became much more formal when I started going to Everett Community College. That marked the beginning of ALL my formal education. I was home schooled through all my earlier education.

The most common question I get about being home schooled is "How did you like it?" The answer is simple... "I don't have much to compare it to." I did spend one quarter in middle school band. That was an interesting experience. I had been playing in a youth orchestra and had stopped. My horn teacher said I should keep playing somewhere. So band it was... The kids there were far from the serious musicians I was used to. I then went back to a youth orchestra.

The second question I usually get is "How did you socialize?" Once again a relatively simple answer. "I had orchestra, my families community theater group, and my family."

The biggest thing I think I learned in all those years was the understanding that education is yours. Only you can learn, no one can make you. Teachers are people who share their passion with you. This can be your parents, your siblings, strangers on the street, children, anyone and everyone. Everyone has something you can learn from them. Life is a lesson and you should never stop learning.

This is my story, my journey. I am late getting started in this outlet of communication and plan to share past experiences as well as present and future. I hope to share my passions and my experiences to help others on this journey, and maybe learn a thing or two myself.